


Begin Again

by TheAzureFox



Category: Future Card Buddyfight
Genre: AU between end of season 2 and start of season 3, I will forever be salty about seasons 3+ for having such cool ideas and bad execution, M/M, and for Buddyfight to go from cool and unique plots to pandering very badly to kids, in other words this is my take on how season 3 should've been set up, includes art bc uwu, ships are if you squint but much intended lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28740906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: Yamigedo is gone now, but the world is still trembling at the ramifications of its destruction.A strange meteor is heading towards ChoTokyo, and it's beginning to look like the start of another strange disaster.(season 3 AU)
Relationships: Aragami Rouga/Gaen Kyouya, Mikado Gaou/Ryuuenji Tasuku
Kudos: 6





	Begin Again

Despite all the clouds, the sun is bright in the sky today. 

After the near world-ending incident that was Yamigedo, peacefulness has drifted once again over ChoTokyo. Gao likes the peace - craves it, even - and he can’t help but bask on the steps to the escalator that leads up to his school grounds.

He’s alone, today. Kuguru and Baku have already ran ahead on the premise of having a Buddyfight between them, needing something to cool their heads. Noboru has long since gone back to America, shaking his nerves in order to continue education there. Kiri has returned to his duties as an Omni Lord, and Tetsuya has accompanied him while Zanya has taken up an internship with his father in the police force. Kazane, on the other hand, has taken up a job at the local Buddyfight shop, wanting to work for a cardshop no matter the cost.

Still, life can’t be too bad. Sure, he misses Drum and, sure, he still has nightmares about the world-eating giant that almost killed him and his friends, but that’s done and over now: the world has finally settled from the stirrings of chaos set into place by those with too much power.

The escalator steps ascend up and up, taking him with them. The faint whirl of machinery can be heard from beneath him: though it does nothing to deafen the sound of kids all around him. Others his age (and younger...and older…) crowd around, chatting feverishly about the events on the news - the shelter-in-place, the pictures of Yamigedo swarming the news - and Gao can’t help but notice the way they slide curious glances to him, seemingly amazed by him.

His heroics aren’t nothing to sniffle at, and in a way he’s kind of proud of that. He and the others, his friends, had taken down the equivalent of a god, and they had done so in a game that Gao loved. Though, he wouldn’t go so far as to romanticize the idea of the hell he’d went through. After all, even now, his hands still shake when he reaches for his Dragon World deck and the eyes of Ikazuchi, cold and arrogant, sneering and lifeless, haunt him, making him second guess himself.

A shadow passes over him, snapping him from his thoughts. He glances upwards, expecting to see a monster passing by - perhaps a Buddyfighter on their way to a fight or just some lazy kid who can’t be bothered to walk - when a glint of green catches his eyes.

Green luminescent light forming a trail of strange particles leads Gao’s gaze to the shoes of a familiar person. And from those shoes he traces his gaze up legs, waist, neck, all the way to the head of the person who has danced in front of him.

Tasuku Ryuenji, boy wonder of the Buddy Police, comes to a halt in front of him, descending from midair with his Buddy Skill on. Jackknife Dragon is beside him, hovering in miniform, and the dragon greets Gao with a nod of his head as Tasuku smiles.

It’s a brilliant smile. The kind that dazzles and pops, sparkles and all. It’s soft and strangely enchanting, as if it’s dragging Gao in. Even still, he holds firm, beaming as he usually does as his number one rival hovers in front of him.

“Tasuku,” he says, watching the way the boy smiles brighter and holding up his fist in greeting. “What brings you here?”

“I came to see you,” the boy says, his voice light with something that makes Gao break into a grin.

“Aren’t you on duty?” He looks at the outfit Tasuku is cloaked in. “Or are you heading to school already? Don’t let me distract you if that’s the case!”

Tasuku laughs at that. “I just finished work for the day and school’s been cancelled due to reconstruction. Though I’d come see you and...I don’t know, chat for a bit?”

“You might have to wait to do that,” Gao gestures to his school as he steps off the escalator. Tasuku grimaces at the sight.

“Looks like Aibo was spared the destruction,” Tasuku murmurs. The boy steps forward, still hovering at the level of Gao’s chest. 

Gao’s not quite sure why he hasn’t turned his Buddy Skill off yet, but it’s kind of getting to him how he has to crane his neck up to watch Tasuku drift around. Feeling a bit playful, he leaps for Tasuku’s hand. His fingers intertwine with the boy’s and, using gravity to his advantage, he pulls Tasuku down with him.

The green particles flaring from the circles on Tasuku’s shoes sputter, before shutting off completely. Tasuku splutters, startled, and the boy is giving Gao a questioning look as Gao grins, patting him on the back.

“Relax!” He tells his friend. “We’ve done it. Yamigedo’s gone now. It’s time for us to take a break and let go for a bit.”

“I...suppose…” Tasuku’s words are airy, almost uncertain. “It’s just…”

“Just?”

The boy scratches the back of his head as he escorts Gao through the school campus. Immediately, a lot of eyes turn to them, heads watching as the two pass, the word “heroes” passing through the crowd like the murmur of a distant stream. If Tasuku notices, however, he doesn’t seem to care, merely musing through his thoughts before he says, softly:

“The Buddy Police Bureau has got a lot going on. After Kyoya’s abuse of power and our failure to take down Yamigedo ourselves to the point we had to rely on untrained civilians to handle our problems...well, Commander Ai seems quite worried.”

“We saved the world. Or, well, I guess I did and you helped.” Tasuku huffs at that and Gao grins. “If anything, shouldn’t you guys be getting heaps of praise right now?”

“Mm.” Tasuku shakes his head. “They’re threatening to cut our funding for our incompetence. That, and the American branch is suggesting they want to buy us out.”

Gao frowns. “Why would they do that?”

“To spread influence, probably.” Jack interrupts them. Tasuku and Gao look at him as he hovers close. “We’ve only visited the American branch once, but they’re pretty desperate to gain power. Buddyfight isn’t as popular there as it is here and so it often gets overlooked during meetings. If it takes over the ChoTokyo branch, it will have considerable voting power.”

Gao blinks. “My head is hurting right now, dude.”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” Tasuku says as they come to a pause at the doors of the academy. “Just go to school like usual. It’s not your problem to deal with.”

Something about those words stings. He looks at Tasuku, frowning, wanting to reach out and say “no you’re wrong I can help you” but falls quiet at the serious, almost lamentful, look in Tasuku’s eyes. 

“Alright,” he says instead. “I can do that.”

He waves goodbye to Tasuku, watching the green lights of Tasuku’s shows sparkle. The boy steps up into the air, reciprocating Gao’s wave of the hand before he takes to the skies. Gao watches him go, then steps through the doors of Aibo Academy.

~~~  
  


The Buddy Police headquarters of ChoTokyo is in disarray when Tasuku returns.

He’d meant only to come back to hand off his uniform but he’s somehow landed in the midst of chaos. Stella and Takihara are running rampant, commanding the officers within with desperation. As if frenzied by their words, every corner of the headquarters seems to be left untouched, a unusual shine to the building as Tasuku feels exasperation furrow his brow.

“Commander Ai!” He calls as he sheds his uniform, Jack taking it from him and depositing it in a nearby locker. “What’s going on?”

Above him, the chair that holds his commanding officer lowers to show the man in glasses. Ai adjusts his spectacles, looking somewhat nervous as he addresses the boy.

“We’re getting a new officer. From the American branch. Today, no less.” Ai rambles. “He should be here soon but they haven’t given us enough warning, honestly.”

“Who is it?” Tasuku asks. “The new officer, I mean?”

“We haven’t been told. Just that they’re coming today. And they’re a kid about your age. Another prodigy, apparently, in the American branch.”

Tasuku nods. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Not at the moment, no. You’re off work anyways. Take the time to relax. We might have a shitstorm hit tomorrow, especially if the American branch is looking for any excuse to take us down a peg.”

“I...see…” Tasuku looks to Jack, who shrugs. He nods his head to Commander Ai. “Well, I’ll be going then.”

He bows before taking his leave, winding his way down flights of steps without miraculously bumping into someone. He takes one step towards the exit doors, squinting at the way the sun reflects from the glass, blinding him, before the doors open and a voice that sounds vaguely familiar enters his ears.

“Officer Tasuku,” a voice greets in a chirp. Tasuku squints, trying to catch sight of the figure before him, but can barely make out anything other than the uniform of the Buddy Police, only in the colors of blue and yellow.

“Greetings,” he says, not sure how else to address the stranger before them.

The doors close, and Tasuku blinks as the blurry figure of a boy he recognizes manifests. Noboru Kodo, a friend of Gao and one of his opponents in Kyoya’s mind game competition from what feels like years ago. He stiffens, recalling the harsh way he’d treated the boy - the way Noboru had claimed to want to be his friend, the way Tasuku had cleaved his lives away from him as the boy had sit, staring up at him in agonized shock - and he bites his lower lip. 

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” He asks Noboru.

“Sure has,” Noboru nods his head. There’s a distant air of politeness to his words, however, that makes Tasuku frown. “Look I...need to see your Commander. Is he...still up in his room?”

“Yeah. He is. You need to see him?”

“Mm.” Noboru nods. He pauses, fidgeting for a few moments, before he glances over Tasuku’s shoulder. “I need to talk to him. It’s important.”

“I won’t stop you,” Tasuku agrees, before stepping sideways. 

Noboru gives his thanks, proceeding forward. Tasuku watches him go, so stunned by his confusion and surprise at Noboru’s presence that he doesn’t realize until much much later that Noboru Kodo, who usually dons a jacket and tiger shirt, is wearing the uniform of the American Buddy Police.

~~~  
  


The news is abuzz with rumors. 

Ryoga isn’t one for tales of grand speculation, myths spread as facts or urban legends taken at face value, but he finds that the news is much too loud for his liking, today.

There’s something about a change in the stars, a shifting of constellations, the appearance of a strange, phantom egg-like meteor that is drawing nearer. It’s gotten all the worlds in a huff, with the Omni Lords discussing their concerns and Earth’s representatives demanding more information. 

Ryoga hasn’t heard of such a phenomenon occurring before. It’s strangely unique, as if it’s a new disturbance similar to Disaster Force or Yamigedo’s arrival. The remembrance of both occasions - of power beyond comprehension haunting the world - makes him unnerved. 

He’s so uneasy, in fact, that he unconsciously finds himself landing on the roof of Kyoya’s summer villa, chasing the familiarity of it as he perches on red tiles. 

As if by some coincidence, he sees Kyoya down below him, the boy perusing through his tablet briefly before he peers upwards at Ryoga, smiling keenly. 

“Ryoga,” the boy says, tilting his head in that way of his, the way he looks when he seems amused. “What brings you here?”

“Have you seen the news?” He asks, stepping off the tiles to float downwards to the ground. 

“Ah? About the mysterious meteor and changing stars?” Kyoya grabs a cup of tea, and offers it to Ryoga.

It’s half-full, and has definitely been drunk out of already. Ryoga takes it anyways, sipping the offering with a wrinkle of his nose.

“It tastes horrible.”

“There’s sugar right here.” Kyoya gestures to a cup filled with sugar cubes. Ryoga takes five and places it in his drink. The green color of the tea distorts into a lighter-colored version. 

“How’d you know I was coming?” He asks Kyoya, narrowing his eyes.

“I’ve known you for a long time.” Kyoya responds with a wave of his hand. “It’s only natural to sense you’d come to me in times like this.”

He frowns. “So do you know what’s happening?”

Kyoya shakes his head. “Azi Dahaka hasn’t told me anything.”

“You’re still communicating with your Buddy?” Ryoga raises his eyes. “I thought the Buddy Police broke your contract with him?”

“Azi Dahaka has his ways of reaching me,” the boy responds cryptically, sipping with a hum.

“And what are you scheming now?”

Kyoya smiles. “That meteor is of interest to Azi Dahaka. He wants me to acquire it.”

“Are you going to?”

“Trying. I have Sofia and Shido figuring out its trajectory right now.”

“Those two? Sofia I can see but Shido? Given how useless he is, I’d half-suspected you’d abandoned him already.” 

“Believe it or not, Sofia works best when she has a partner.” Kyoya reaches up and takes Ryoga’s tea cup from him, sipping casually from it, as if unconcerned that it is now full of sugar. “And as much as she tries to deny it, Shido grounds her. Even with her wavering loyalty, as long as I have Shido under my control, she’ll stay willingly.”

“You’re just as manipulative as ever.” Ryoga notes with a frown.

“I’m a sociopath by nature,” Kyoya shrugs. “You know this, and yet you’re still here.”

“You’re my friend,” Ryoga says.

Kyoya’s eyebrows furrow slightly, before relaxing. “I suppose.”

A note of frustration sings in Ryoga’s blood. He scowls, wanting to dig deeper into Kyoya’s psyche, to return to the boy who taught him how to play card games and saved him from poverty, but sighs instead. Kyoya is complicated and untouchable, a boy with a deity complex and a need for saviorhood. Ryoga knows this, is aware of it, and yet he still reaches, hoping to get Kyoya to see him as not a tool to be used, but a friend to be appreciated.

Sometimes, however, he doesn’t think it’s worth the effort trying.

~~~

Noboru is nervous. 

He’s trained for this, but he’s nervous.

Meeting Tasuku at the entryway had made him uneasy, unravelling his facade of calmness so easily, but as he steps into the office of the head of the ChoTokyo Buddy Police, he finds himself even more flustered.

“S-Sir,” his voice slips from his throat in an embarrassing stutter. He clears his throat. “Commander Ai, sir?”

The chair that sits above him clicks and revolves to meet him, lowering to reveal its occupier: a short man with a red scarf and glinting glasses.

“Noboru,” Ai says, surprise in his voice. Noboru relaxes slightly. The man still recognizes him. 

“Hello, sir.”

There’s another pause, and Noboru gets the feeling he’s being scrutinized. There’s another pause before, after a moment, Ai speaks.

“Are you...the American Buddy Police officer we’ve been sent?”

Noboru gives an awkward smile, scratching the back of his neck. “...I am.”

There’s another pause. Then a whoosh of air. “Well, this is surprising. You’re working for the American branch? I thought you were just becoming a Champion Buddyfighter over there.”

“I was. Then I got picked up by the New York branch.” He scuffs his shoes on a nearby floor step, before sobering immensely. “They’ve sent me here to observe some things. Namely, the on-coming of a certain meteor.”

“The one in the news?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“Isn’t that just some sort of...space mirage?”

Noboru shakes his head. “Not according to my boss, no.” 

He recalls the woman whose command he was under. A strict woman who had a penchant for being nice to him (when he wasn’t being a smug brat, of course). She’d sent him to the ChoTokyo Buddy Police on the implication that he was the most familiar with the ChoTokyo branch, suggesting he’d be able to reconnect there and serve his mission better/

“What did your boss say?”

“According to NASA, we suspect the meteor is going to hit near this area. It’s not an accurate prediction, but the meteor seems to be searching for something here. My boss wants me to find out what it’s looking for and observe the meteor’s behavior.”

“And your boss is okay with you telling us this?”

Noboru nods. “My superior says she wants to try and foster a friendly relationship with you guys through me. So, I’m here to serve that purpose. To watch and observe.”

“I see.” Ai nods his head. “Are you wanting to work alongside Tasuku, then? He might be helpful in this task of yours.”

Noboru thinks of the older boy. Thinks of how cool he is and how Noboru can’t even begin to compare to him. Old insecurities flare in his bones, as well as the embarrassment of having boldly declared to Tasuku that the boy needed his help. He thinks of Yamigedo, and how he so easily fell prey to brainwashing, and then bites his lip, blurring the memory from his mind. 

“I’ll be fine on my own,” he says. “Thanks.”

“If you say so.”

~~~

When a mysterious meteor in the shape and appearance of an egg lands before Gao, he can’t believe it.

It’s white and smooth, with a shell that begins to crack as soon as Gao lays a hand on it. The golden sun-like pattern that decorates it glows spectacularly, blinding him. 

Then, when the light fades, an orange dragon the size of a newborn peeks its head out, adorned in red fluff and bits of armor. The small thing blinks round eyes up at him, tail wagging, before it hops upwards, hugging his neck and nuzzling him with a cooing fondness as it says, on repeat: “Gao, Gao, Gao!”

From there, everything happens so fast.

A boy with golden wings from his back flies to Gao’s side, demanding to see the creature in his arms. It takes Gao half a minute to realize the kid in question is _Noboru_ and another for him to realize that, across from him, Kyoya has appeared from out of nowhere to take an interest in the newborn creature.

Both Kyoya and Noboru demand to see the creature for themselves, eyes narrowed and gazes focused intently on the monster that’d hatched, before the thing raises its hackles and snarls, declaring with deformed, garbled words:

“I want to Buddyfight. With Gao. As Buddy.”

And Gao, who has long since longed for another Buddy to fill the void Drum left behind, accepts this creature’s request, not understanding the ramifications that will soon fall upon him.

~~~

From the shadows, a boy with purple hair and a black dragon hovering over him watches as a golden dragon hatches and declares itself the buddy of the same kid who saved the world twice. Cold silver eyes watch as a Buddyfight takes place between the sun dragon and the king of Darkness Dragon World, permeating the area with a sense of power that seems to go unnoticed by all involved.

“Gaito,” the dragon hovering above him says, parting its mouth to let shadowy ashes drop from its mouth. “What should we do now?”

“We wait,” he tells his Buddy, frowning with narrowed eyes.

“But if we don’t secure the sun dragon…”

“It’s too late for that. It’s already chosen a partner.” Gaito shakes his head. “We can only hope it chose wisely.”

“We need that thing to grow.” His Buddy agrees.

“Indeed.”

Gaito nods at his dragon, turning on his heel to escape from the sight of the scene. As he does so, his dragon dissipates into particles of purple, forming a distorting void that Gaito stands on. The void eats at him, swallowing his form, until he vanishes from sight, disappearing from the scene.

**Author's Note:**

> If I had my way, season 3 would've done so much after the events of season 2. 
> 
> -Gao would be depressed over having no Buddy, leading him to be rusty on Buddyfighting and eager to immediately accept Bal's offer to be his next Buddy. He doesn't understand the consequences of accepting an alien Buddy's request until much much later lmao.
> 
> -Bal is an alien who also comes from the sun. Idk I forgot the actual canon plot for him but he's like...a future traveler who's meant to stop Azi Dahaka from gaining power. In his baby form he's sentient and intelligent and emotional but in his cool-ass futuristic form he's apathetic and just there to do anything he must to destroy Azi Dahaka's influence like some robot of some sorts.
> 
> -Noboru is with the American Buddy Police and got sent over to observe Bal. He also awkwardly fulfills his promise to Tasuku in season one of becoming his friend and the two of them are Buddy Police buddies. 
> 
> -On that note: Noboru is traumatized from the events in season 2 as "Tiger" and every now and then he'll have a panic attack because he's unable to cope with reality. Part of his friendship with Tasuku and Gao is learning to overcome his trauma from that event to become a better person and help the world not get fucked over by aliens from other worlds with too much power. (Also I just really want Noboru as a fourth protagonist godammit I'm still salty he was built up as one in the first 12 episodes of season 1 and then got kicked off as a side character forever more ;w;)
> 
> -Buddy Police politics are also a major thing and the ChoTokyo branch is being stifled by all the other branches from around the world due to its inability to handle not only Kyoya but Yamigedo. Tasuku is trying to protect its reputation by going undercover as a "retired cop" to protect Bal and work with Noboru to keep evil forces away from it.
> 
> -Gao is the hero of ChoTokyo, but Gaito is the hero from, idk, France. Gaito's there in the plot to make sure the sun dragon grows to its full potential and he is often in disdain about how the sun dragon picked a "moron" for its partner lmao. Also Gaito's with some shady heroic organization that seeks to undermine Azi Dahaka and Kyoya's influence.
> 
> -Noboru's buddy skill is also golden wings on his back. Iirc he canonically doesn't have a Buddy Skill so I have him one. Realistically it'd more likely be in the shape of a dragon he rides but, eh, I was lazy for this piece lmao.
> 
> -Idk Gaito's Buddy Skill or if he canonically has one so his is just a void that swallows him up and teleports him around. He becomes invisible to outside eyes when eaten by this void and can be teleported around while inside it. Because...I think his theme is galaxies or something so it fits that a black hole thingie is his Buddy Skill.


End file.
